Paavo Tapio Lipponen (; born 23 April 1941) is a
Finnish politician and former reporter. He was
Prime Minister of Finland from 1995 to 2003, and Chairman of the
Social Democratic Party of Finland from 1993 to 2005. He also served as
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
of the
Parliament of Finland from 2003 to 2007 and was his party's nominee in the
2012 Finnish presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Finland in January and February 2012. The first round took place on 22 January 2012 with advance voting between 11 and 17 January. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round was held on ...
but received only 6.7% of the votes, making it the biggest defeat the
Social Democratic Party had ever received in Finnish Presidential elections at the time. Lipponen is currently the oldest living former Prime Minister of Finland.
Career
Lipponen was born in
Turtola
Pello (formerly Turtola) is a municipality of Finland. It is located approximately north of the Arctic Circle in the western part of the province of Lapland, and is part of the Lapland region. The municipality is on the national border with Sw ...
(subsequently renamed
Pello
Pello (formerly Turtola) is a municipality of Finland. It is located approximately north of the Arctic Circle in the western part of the province of Lapland, and is part of the Lapland region. The municipality is on the national border with Sw ...
), son of Orvo Lipponen and his wife Hilkka Iisalo. Paavo's maternal grandparents were Jaakko Antero Ingman/Iisalo (a distant relative of
Count Adolf Fredrik Munck af Fulkila
Adolf Fredrik, Count Munck (Mikkeli, Finland, 28 April 1749 – Massa, Italy, 18 July 1831), was a Swedish and Finnish noble during the Gustavian era. His family name is sometimes inaccurately given as "Munck af Fulkila" because his father us ...
and
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as comm ...
) and his wife Siiri Törnroos. Paavo Lipponen spent his childhood and youth in
Kuopio.
Receiving his
gymnasium diploma from the
Lyceum of Kuopio in 1959, he then studied philosophy and literature at
Dartmouth College for one year on a
Fulbright scholarship.
Soon after returning to Finland he moved to
Helsinki where he eventually attained a master's degree in
international relations from the
University of Helsinki in 1971. He was the editor of the influential student newspaper ''
Ylioppilaslehti'' 1963–1965 and a freelance reporter for the Finnish Broadcasting Company (
YLE
Yleisradio Oy ( Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, found ...
) 1965–1967.
Lipponen made various controversial statements that angered groups such as Estonian refugees.
According to
Alpo Rusi Alpo Rusi (born 17 August 1949, in Jyväskylä) served in the Foreign Ministry of Finland in several assignments (Hamburg, Copenhagen, New York, Bonn), and from 1994 to 1999 as foreign policy adviser to the President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari. He ...
's book ''Vasemmalta ohi'', Lipponen began cooperation with the East German secret police
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990.
The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maintaining state authori ...
in 1969. The book suggests that Lipponen is the code name Mungo XV/326/71 in the
Rosenholz files
The Rosenholz files are a collection of 381 CD-ROMs containing 280,000 files with information on persons who were sources and targets or employees and helpers in the focus of the ''Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung'' (''HVA'', “Main Directorate for Rec ...
. In a 2008 interview Lipponen said that he had been a "target of East German manipulation". It is rumored that Lipponen is on the so-called
Tiitinen list. Alpo Rusi has also suggested that Lipponen had an alias, code, and operation in the
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
.
He held various posts in the Social Democratic Party organisation from 1967 to 1979. Lipponen's opinions were changed. In a speech in 1978 Lipponen asserted that he had lost his belief in socialism.
Lipponen first came into the political limelight when he was secretary to Prime Minister
Mauno Koivisto from 1979 to 1982. Frequently having to substitute for the busy Prime Minister, Lipponen was soon dubbed ''vara-Manu'' ("deputy Manu" — ''Manu'' being short for Mauno).
Lipponen was a Member of the
Parliament of Finland from 1983 to 1987 and also from 1991 until he retired in 2007.
In 1993 SDP chairman
Ulf Sundqvist
Ulf Ludvig Sundqvist (22 February 1945 – 22 April 2023) was a Finnish politician who served as chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland, a minister in four cabinets in the 1970s and a banker in the 1980s.
Political career
Sundqvis ...
was suspected and later convicted of a large financial fraud. Lipponen was elected the new chairman in 1993, and he led the party to victory in the
parliamentary election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
of 1995. Lipponen formed a cabinet of five parties including both rightist and leftist parties. Lipponen's economic policies were, however, dominated by the right-wing. The main task of the cabinet was to decrease the number of unemployed. Tight fiscal policies allowed the participation of Finland in the
European Monetary Union, which resulted in the introduction of the Euro in 1999. Foreign trade increased above the European average 1995–1999. Laws for a new constitution were passed and it took effect on 1 March 2000.
Lipponen headed the SDP campaign in 1999 which resulted in losses, but the SDP remained the largest party in the parliament. The coalition formed in 1995 was renewed. During the second Lipponen cabinet, he headed Finland's six months in the EU presidency and pursued pro-integration and pro-expansion policies. Lipponen introduced the concept of a
European constitution during a speech in
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population.
The area of the whole city a ...
in 2000.
He headed the SDP campaign of 2003, which led to victory for the SDP; however, the Center Party gained more seats, which marked the end for the succession of the cabinets of the SDP and the National Coalition Party. The chairman of the Center Party,
Anneli Jäätteenmäki, formed a new cabinet, and Lipponen took the position of Speaker of Parliament. Lipponen retired from the party chairmanship in 2005 and was succeeded by
Eero Heinäluoma. Lipponen left the parliament in 2007.
Anneli Jäätteenmäki of the Centre Party won the elections after she had accused Paavo Lipponen, who was prime minister at the time, of allying neutral Finland with the United States in the
war in Iraq during a meeting with President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, and thus associated Finland with what many Finns considered an
illegal war of aggression. Lipponen denied the claims and declared that "We support the UN and the UN Secretary-General." Jäätteenmäki resigned as prime minister after 63 days in office amid accusations that she had lied about the leak of the documents about the meeting between Bush and Lipponen. This series of events was considered scandalous and it is named
Iraq leak or Iraq-gate.
On 15 August 2008, during the
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...
,
Nord Stream 1
Nord Stream (German-English mixed expression; german: Nord and en, Stream, literally 'North Stream'; russian: Северный поток, ''Severny potok'') is a pair of offshore natural gas pipelines in Europe that run under the Baltic Sea ...
, a Russian gas project, announced that it had signed a consulting contract with Lipponen. According to Nord Stream, he advises on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and permit applications in Finland. He provides independent consultations according to his expertise in Finnish administrative and decision-making procedures within the energy sector.
As a result of the scandal that followed, Lipponen relinquished his office in the parliament building and resigned from all of his duties in Finland except veteran activities.
In an article published in October 2008, Lipponen discussed the Russian response in Georgia and warned Europe of its dependence on Russian gas. Lipponen criticised the way many Finnish and German politicians were opposed to nuclear power and stated that their fundamentalism destroys both energy security and climate policy.
Poland reportedly blocked Lipponen's candidacy as EU foreign policy chief because of Lipponen's ties to Nord Stream.
Lipponen was his party's nominee in the
2012 Finnish presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Finland in January and February 2012. The first round took place on 22 January 2012 with advance voting between 11 and 17 January. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round was held on ...
. He was knocked out in the first round, receiving 6.7% of the vote.
Lipponen has declined the honour of being named a ''
Counselor of State'', the highest honour in Finland, saying that no-one outside of Finland knows what a Valtioneuvos is and that he is satisfied with being "former Prime Minister".
Personal life
Lipponen played
water polo in his youth at the highest national level.
He lives currently with his second wife, Päivi Lipponen (formerly Hertzberg, maiden name Hiltunen), and has three children.
Popular culture
Lipponen appears as an animated character in the
political satire
Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where Political discourse analysis, political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing ...
TV series ''
The Autocrats''.
YLE: Itse valtiaat nauroi 2000-luvun poliitikoille – nämä hahmot olivat Suomen huipputehtävissä 20 vuotta sitten
(in Finnish)
Cabinets
* Lipponen I Cabinet
The first cabinet of Paavo Lipponen was the 66th government of Finland, which existed from 13 April 1995 to 15 April 1999. The cabinet’s Prime Minister was Paavo Lipponen. It was a majority government, and one of the longest-running governments ...
(1995–1999)
* Lipponen II Cabinet
Paavo Lipponen's second cabinet was the 67th government of Finland. The cabinet was in office from 15 April 1999 to 17 April 2003. It was a center-left majority government, despite the center-right National Coalition Party's inclusion in the cab ...
(1999–2003)
References
External links
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lipponen, Paavo
1941 births
Living people
People from Pello
Leaders of the Social Democratic Party of Finland
Prime Ministers of Finland
Speakers of the Parliament of Finland
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1983–87)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1991–95)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1995–99)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (1999–2003)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (2003–07)
Dartmouth College alumni
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class
Candidates for President of Finland
Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class
Social Democratic Party of Finland politicians
Presidents of the European Council
Finnish writers
Finnish water polo players
Fulbright alumni